o it’s already mid-February and I definitely did not take advantage of the year end holidays to write and make this post, because, well, I made myself busy with other things. I had a draft sitting for a couple months so I’ve chopped out the sections that I don’t feel like expanding on now and kept the ones that came more freely.

Mexico

It seems we’ve gotten into the rhythm of taking a trip in spring. Last year we wanted to go international, but ideally have a shorter flight and less of a time change. Central/South America was the obvious choice. I had never been to Mexico and we had some hotel points that could be used in Cancun, so we decided to go for a long week. We spent half the trip in Mexico City, the other half in Cancun. We both agree that we don’t need to ever go back to Cancun (not that it was a bad time), but we definitely want to return to Mexico City as well as go to some other states, probably Oaxaca. The food, architecture and international makeup of Mexico City made it a fun place to explore. Cancun was great for relaxing at the resort pool, swimming in the ocean and even had some nice little markets.

One of the most memorable things about this trip has nothing to do with the location though. Instead it was that a week before the trip we decided to give potty training another go with Norris. He showed promising behavior and by the time we made it to the hotel in Mexico City he was using the adult toilet to go to the bathroom both ways. We took the bottomless approach while in the hotel and took him to the bathroom consistently when out and about. He absolutely crushed it. Even as all three of us started to have stomach issues part of the way through the trip his accidents were minimal.

Hawaii

I have a flight alert setup for flights to Japan so that I can dream weekly about taking a trip there. In August when I saw tickets were only $600 round trip for October I discussed with Tram about going for a short trip. We still didn’t feel like going on a long flight for a short trip so we decided to pivot to Hawaii (The big island). The price was about the same and we knew from last year’s trip that Norris had a fun time at the beach.

After booking tickets I decided to look into renting a bike while there to go on a long ride one day. Bike Works Kona showed limited availability and after more reading I found out it was Ironman World Championships on the weekend we would be flying out. Doh! However it didn’t end up negatively affecting our trip really. I was able to get a bike rented when I showed up at the shop in the evening. I went for a 52 mile ride the next morning and returned it that afternoon. Perfect!

The main goal for me was to do some snorkeling and to see some lava if possible. Kilauea had an episode 24 hours before we arrived and a week or so after we got back, but was quiet while we were there. I’m not salty you are! The government shut down meant the visitor center was not open so we decided to go to the crater rim at night. We were able to see a tiny spec of lava through our binoculars. Check it off the list I guess?

Snorkeling on the other hand was phenomenal, the best I’ve ever had in my life. I have snorkeled all around the globe, but I try to go whenever I’m in a tropical area. Even on the Hilo side which isn’t supposed to be as good as the Jona side we snorkeled at a few little coves that had really good clarity and tons of sea turtles. On the Kona side we saw a couple more sea turtles, eels and spinner dolphins.

Cycling

I set the goal to 2,000 miles last year and started the new year strong. I then had some fading and in mid summer a large drop due to house projects (see below). Once those wrapped I picked up the pace again and only took some time off during the Hawaii vacation, although I still got miles in, and then to wrap up some house projects. Finally seeing that I was decently behind and doing the math I realized I’d need to ride four days a week for the rest of the year, during some of the worst weather. So I set to it, and sprinkled in some weekend rides and just made the cut. The average length of ride for the year was 7.9 miles, a 7% decrease from my average of 8.5 miles in 2024. I did more commuting and less long weekend rides, but I did complete the metric century (100km), but riding out to Hood River.

Health

Even with the increase in cycling I didn’t hit my health goals for the year. I stayed around 200 pounds and drank alcohol on about 63% of the days in the year. Only a tiny improvment over the 64% in 2024. I need to eat less greasy food, drink less soda and drink less alcohol!

Yakitori

We continued to have yakitori parties, but not many during summer due to house projects. We are now back in the swing of things and I’ve made some updates to the garage to make it a little more cozy. Heaters, a simple hood, decoration, tables and seats. I’m slowly honing in on technique and how to best serve the various dishes. I’ve updated the website with info about the skewers and my tare recipe and will continue to add recipes and photos of dishes that continue to stay on the menu. We even have some of the first people that we’ve never met coming for future parties!

Japanese Study

I ended up failing the JLPT N3 by a single point in 2024. I decided rather than take the N3, which is pretty much worthless, to just go for the N2 and see how it was. I started the year off studying strong, but as summer came, trips, travelling, house projects I just fell off the routine. The test was pretty hard, I maybe understood 40%. The results confirm that. 16/60 on Language Knowledge, 20/60 on Reading and 28/60 on Listening. Total score 64/180. Ouch!

House Projects

I re-shingled my roof and when doing it decided to take down the chimney. It was just acting as the flue for our gas furnace. I initially planned to just reroute the exhaust flue out the side of the house, but with an 80% efficient furnace you need a forced exhaust. Rather than pay to do that I decided to get quotes for a heat pump install. I ended up going with GreenSavers which cost $10k after tax breaks. I did the electrical wiring myself, I pulled a permit and actually switched out to a larger service panel (still 200 amps) at the same time as there was an additional tax break available. You start with one project and it always cascades into several other ones. Now though we have all the critical stuff taken care of and in good working order.

Backpacking

We took Norris on his first backpacking trip to a little lake I grew up backpacking to with my parents. It was a hot weekend in the middle of summer so we were able to pack light. The hike in is only one mile, but Norris hiked, or should I say ran, the entire way there and back by himself. He even carried his little backpack with some toys inside. I was surprised and proud. We only went for a single and luckily scored the exact site we wanted. The highlight was him running around the campsite barefoot and nothing on but a pull-up, a true outdoor child.

Goals for 2026

Camping

I say it every year, I want to go camping more. We’ve already got a road trip planned this summer for Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks as well as a trip to a local state park. Time to look at the calendar and pepper in some more weekends.

Cycling

I want to do more long rides and probably sustain the total number of commutes I do. Can I possibly do an imperial century ride (100mi)? Who knows, but I’ll try.

Health

I really need to get on top of it, I’m getting old and I want to be around for many more years.

JLPT

Passing the N2 is the goal this year. I’ve gotten back on top of anki after it fell a little to the wayside and I’m now reading my first light novel: また、同じ夢を見ていた. I’m also listening to more Japanese podcasts and watching a couple shows/anime here and there.

Short Posts

I like looking back at photos from the past, but I’m noticing that it’s hard to recall some memories that were so distinctive at the time. I need to get better about just getting a post up here so I don’t forget those vignettes. Or perhaps they are best lost to time?